Decriminalization of Cannabis

Marijuana is one of the world’s oldest plants to come to wide practice of production, sale, and consumption originally used for medical purposes. This generated rapidly growing industries based around the variety of uses for the easily grown plant species. Hemp has been used for a variety of everyday purposes in Americas past including paper, clothing, food, and fuel; the economic potential for this plant type surpasses many plants which are considered staple crops today. Marijuana is America’s number one cash crop surpassing corn and other items. Its decriminalization would open new tax revenues and slash old tax budgets as funds are re appropriated to satisfy a hungry criminal justice system. There have been many non-violent convictions in the justice system that costs the country potentially hundreds of billions of dollars every year and have since the start of the war on drugs during the Reagan era. These convictions could be avoided if the government let each American decide if the production and consumption of marijuana violated their moral and ethical values as individual liberties. As Americans, we are given, at birth, unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness through whatever means beyond any clear and eminent harm. The combined benefits that would be experienced from legalization are obvious, evident, and too important to remain illegal; the decriminalization of marijuana is more a matter of time due to the variety and abundance of positive effects that would be caused by it.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.(Ginsberg A1) It is within my pursuit of happiness to have the liberty to produce, trade, and consume marijuana throughout my adult life. Our…...

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Air conditioner water (don't leak outside, the water contains cannabis fragrance.)
Hot air into water then sink/toilet
Pro-cannabis arguments
DEA and FDA criticise the use of herbs as medicine, they say that plants contain a variable mix of compounds and cannot provide a precisely defined drug effect. According to the pharma industry, medicines are synthetic, single-ingredient “silver bullets” that focus upon solitary metabolic pathways in our physiological systems.
Herbalists, however – applaud the poly-pharmacy of herbal remedies and claim two advantages over single-ingredient drugs:
The multiple mechanisms may work to improve therapeutic activity in a cumulative or synergistic manner.
Herbs may also contain compounds that mitigate the side effects of their predominant active ingredients.
Thus, cannabis has been characterised as a “synergistic shotgun” in contrast with synthetic, single-ingredient “silver bullets.”
The many ingredients modulate our health via several metabolic pathways, gently nudging our system towards homeostasis. This kind of “multitasking” makes cannabis impossible to evaluate, according to the pharma industry. But multitasking avoids the unbalanced distortion of solitary metabolic pathways as produced by synthetic, single-ingredient silver bullets such as Virox.
Cannabis list of ingredients:
THC – Tetrahydrocannabiol is a “new” molecule that evolved within the past 34 million......

...age as well as being mindful of the things they do and say in the presence of children because children are quick to imitate what they see because they think it is the proper way to behave. Adults have to remember that they are highly praised by adolescents so they should behave in the manner they want children to behave.
References
Alfonso, J., & Dunn, M. E. (2007). Differences in the Marijuana Expectancies of Adolescents in Relation to Marijuana Use. Substance Use & Misuse. 42(6), 1009-1025. doi:10.1080/10826080701212386
Daddis, C. (2011). Desire for Increased Autonomy and Adolescents' Perceptions of Peer Autonomy: 'Everyone Else Can; Why Can't I?'. Child Development, 82(4), 1310-1326
http://www.guide4living.com/drugabuse/cannabis-effects.htm...

...Should Cannabis be legalised?
There has been a lot of debate on whether cannabis should be legalised, there are many people who think it should be but there are also a lot of people who reckon it’s a unacceptable idea. Both sides of the argument are strong as they can support their decision, with facts; therefore the government has a very hard choice to make. I think that cannabis should be legalised because it seems to have a lot of good causes, and even though it would appear to have an unpleasant side to it, my opinion would be it has more good causes than bad. Nowadays most young people experiment with some type of drug, despite the fact they are illegal. The most popular would come across as being Cannabis. Some people see this as being extremely unhealthy and that is why they don’t want it to be legal, but Cannabis doesn’t have any direct harm to the user and it would seem to be the least harmful illegal drug you could use.
Cannabis is also now classified as B opposed to C. This wouldn’t have had any effect on the public as the same amounts of people buy it illegally.
The reasons I think it should be legalised are; Smoking is legal and the mortality rate and the amount of illnesses smoking causes are a lot higher. Smoking can be a lot more harmful to the body as it can cause Cancer and many sorts of diseases such as, Bronchitis and Emphysema. Cannabis is yet to cause fatal illnesses such as smoking does. The government refuse to make smoking illegal as it......

...a. thesis
II. Cannabis
a. Why cannabis should be legalized for Economical Value to the economy
Timothy Miller
The belief that Marijuana was one of the most important crops to the common wealth, continued throughout the 19th century. As production increased, more states like Illinois, California, and Nebraska began to grow Hemp, with more domestic Marijuana available, creative ideas for Marijuana use increased. In 1841, Congress ordered the Navy to buy domestic Hemp, and in 1843 they appropriated fifty thousand dollars to purchase American Hemp. Marijuana Production was a hard and tedious process, its production was always relegated to the slaves in this countries. After the Civil War when labor was no longer free, there was a great decline in the domestic cultivation of Hemp. In 1861 G.F. Schaffer of New York patented the Marijuana Dresser, used to prepare Marijuana for manufacturing. After Schaffer invention, many improvements to his machine followed.By the early 20th century, industrialization, lead to inventions, of machines that would do the work of many, this was caused by the abolition of slavery. One of the most important inventions to the Marijuana industry was the Decorticator machine, it was hailed as the invention to revolutionize the Marijuana industry. In an article from Popular Mechanics magazine dated February 1938 spoke of Marijuana as a cash crop soon to be worth a billion dollars.
Tony Nitti
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...The Decriminalization of Drugs: Costs and Benefits to Society The University of Pennsylvania Michael F. Harker March 21, 2009 Criminology 200-401 Instructor: John MacDonald Abstract History In 1973 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was formed to control drugs in America. Cocaine became popular again towards the end of the 1970’s followed by crack in the 1980’s (DuPont, 1995, p. 463). These two drugs helped to account for a large increase in violence that was spreading like a pandemic. Today the DEA still faces large problems with crime due to drugs;however it is now in the form of organized crime. It is becoming increasingly difficult to stop shipments of drugs into and out of the U.S. as the leaders of drug cartelsare beginning to set up headquarters in foreign countries. If the U.S. does not take some action with reducing the penalty for certain drugs, then these drug lords will continue with their violent ways, and America will face even more problems with drugs than it currently does. The Problems Faced Today and Their Solutions A major concern of many proponents of decriminalization is that of the economic burden on society. Gary E. Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, stated,“legalization means we educate, regulate, tax and control the estimated four hundred billion dollar a year drug industry” (Johnson, 2001). By reducing the amount of money that is spend on the whole system for controlling drugs, the government would have more money to spend...

...Compromise For The Green
The legalization of cannabis, or marijuana, for medical usage is a controversial topic among a substantial number of individuals. Many people argue that cannabis is an effective way to treat a wide range of diseases/disorders. As also, a numerous number of others contend that cannabis is not an effective way to help treat these diseases/disorders. Personally, I believe that cannabis for medicinal usage should be legalized because it has more benefits than risks.
The smoking of cannabis can help alleviate the symptoms of the terminally ill. The Institute of Medicine published in its Mar. 1999 report titled “Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base”: “For terminal patients suffering debilitating pain or nausea and for whom all indicated medications have failed to provide relief, the medical benefits of smoked marijuana might outweigh the harm.” Nausea these patients experience from chemotherapy can be alleviated with marijuana by blocking pain receptors to mask the feeling. The risks of smoking cannabis are significantly lower for terminally ill patients because they have a limited amount of time left to live. The time it would take for a new condition to possibly occur, the likelihood of the patient still being alive would be slim. By smoking cannabis, these patients can make the remaining time left in their lives more enjoyable and bearable due to the relaxing effects cannabis has on the body without the side-effects of other mainstream...

...Economic Benefits of Cannabis Legalization
* Excise Taxes $2.2 - $6.4 Billion
* Sales Taxes $0.2 - $1.3 Billion
* Enforcement Savings $6 - $9 Billion
* Hemp Industry $6 - $10 Billion
* Others: Spinoff industries, Reduced hard-drug and alcohol abuse
untaxed free market
In an untaxed free market, cannabis ought to be as cheap as other leaf crops. Bulk marijuana might reasonably retail at the price of other medicinal leaf herbs, around $.75 -$1.50 an ounce. Premium grades might be compared to fine teas, which range up to $2 per ounce, or to pipe tobacco, which retails for $1.25-$2.00. High grade domestic sinsemilla might however cost somewhat more, due to the relatively lower yield of cannabis compared to tea and tobacco, and the high level of U.S. labor costs. Cultivation expert Ed Rosenthal estimates that domestic labor costs could be as high as $5 per ounce. Advertisements from medical catalogs indicate that cannabis cost about $2.50-$5 per pound in 1929-30. [01] Adjusting for inflation, this works out to $1.20-$2.40 per ounce, a breathtaking 100- to 300-fold reduction from today's illicit prices, which range from $100- $200 per ounce for low-grade Mexican to $400- $600 per ounce for high-grade sinsemilla.
Abstract:
Marijuana legalization offers an important advantage over decriminalization in that it allows for legal distribution and taxation of cannabis. In the absence of taxation, the free market price of legal marijuana would be extremely low,...

...Cannabis, is the world’s most famous illicit drug. Many of young adults today use cannabis for recreational purposes. Culturally, cannabis has influenced a majority of the youth to become a part of a taboo. Socially, cannabis has its impact; individuals suffer from peer pressure from their friends. The use of marijuana is less harmful than other, legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco. However, marijuana is the most widely used in the world; it remains illegal almost everywhere in the world. Since the past decade, there has been a large number of movements for the decriminalization, or the legalization of marijuana. Politicians, on the other hand, often refuse to take a stand on the issue. Also, in the rare instances when a politician does attempt to address the problems with prohibitionist attitudes towards marijuana, they face harsh opinion from their peers, which is a result of their fear of losing the support from their board. Cannabis is not just a drug cannabis also brings technological, health and economic benefits to the world.
When people hear the word hemp or marijuana they believe in the medical aspects but it also has a vast amount of usefulness for example; hemp is able to produce plastic and medicine it is said that one acre of hemp is to produce more oxygen than twenty-five acres of forest. One important use of cannabis is the use as bio fuel with the plant’s ability to grow in infertile soils also reduces the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can......

...Economics of Decriminalization or Legalization of Cannabis
Introduction
Capitalism: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a few markets. This unique system allows for a merchant to market just about any product to the masses dependent on a public opinion of the commodity, legality, availability, and profitability. Some commodities, although carrying high demand are regulated heavily and sometimes even ban from the market place for reasons pertaining to public safety. Others, however, showing to be a health hazard are still allowed to remain on the market. This definition is according to Merriam-Webster.com.
This paper will focus on the economics of cannabis and how by its decriminalization, or legalization, it can be a profitable commodity in the marketplace by the following. Providing an overview of cannabis and how political games have caused an unearned negative public opinion on the commodity. Listing arguments that support the claim that by legalizing this commodity not only crime rates in general, but violent crime rates, will drop noticeably if not substantially providing a savings in the cost of enforcing and prosecuting such crimes. And, that by decriminalization, the federal government can regulate this commodity much like alcohol and tobacco providing new......

...November 9, 2013
The Decriminalization of Drugs
It goes without saying that America faces a drug addiction that is beyond anything we could have ever anticipated. It is reported that an estimated 22.5 million Americans suffer from a dependency from a drug of some sort, whether it may be stimulants, depressants or hallucinogens (NIDA 2). However these victims of addiction are often demonized for their condition and are treated as criminals by the infallible U.S. Government. As a result there is a trend of 1 in every 100 adults will end up incarcerated for a drug related offense such as possession (Drug Policy Alliance 1). So instead of treating addiction itself, many politicians decide that it is necessary to place these undesirables into prison in an effort to reform their ways. This trend of mass incarceration gained momentum in the early 70’s during the Nixon Administration with his “War on Drugs”, but in reality over the past 4 decades we have only seen the increase of drug addiction, overdose and any hardly any progress as a result. So where do we go from here? Well many liberals would whole-heartedly suggest that we legalize all controlled substances for recreational use, but that is a pipe dream reserved for a utopian society in a novel. Therefore I suggest a similar yet more conservative approach to this problem: the decriminalization of drugs. Instead of legalizing, which involves taxation and regulation of controlled substances; decriminalization simply removes......

...The fine depends on the amount of marijuana and prior offenses (Decriminalization of Marijuana and the demand for Alcohol, Marijuana, and Cocaine). Arguers believe by decriminalizing marijuana it would increase users, but that isn’t completely true. I’m sure the amount of users would increase by a small percent, but nothing noticeable. Under these laws the drug still would be illegal, and it might only tempt people previously curious about trying it. Summed up by a statement in “Decriminalization of Marijuana and the demand for Alcohol, Marijuana, and Cocaine” , “ The researchers concluded "that decriminalization had had virtually no effect . . . on the marijuana use . . . among American young people in this age group." Another argument against marijuana is that it is a gateway drug. By someone using marijuana they will soon begin to have the urge to try other drugs and achieve a greater “high”. Many studies have been done in the past, and in recent years to determine if this is true. In the 1980’s when cocaine was one of the most popular drugs, studies were conducted on the use of marijuana and cocaine use. In the first study in 1984, decriminalized states had higher cocaine users only by three percent, and in 1988 the number of users was almost identical this time. Alcohol was in the same situation as cocaine, as decriminalized states had a higher percentage but by only a percent or two (Decriminalization of Marijuana and the demand for Alcohol, Marijuana, and......

...Why the Decriminalization and Legalization of Cannabis Would Improve Canadian Society
Criminology 101 - Section 02
Nikaya Mirhadi-Pathon
Capilano University
Cannabis, the plant from which marijuana is derived, is the most widely used, produced and trafficked drug worldwide (Ducatti Flister, 2012). The decriminalization of marijuana has been a widely debated topic on a global scale as many advocate for it’s therapeutic purposes. In the city of Seattle, there are reportedly more medicinal marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks outlets. With the recent rise of dispensaries, two Washington University students are preparing to capitalize on this phenomenon by releasing an app for iPhones called Canary, billed as “Uber for marijuana” where an illegal delivery service can bring high-grade cannabis to your home within the hour (Altman, 2014). Governments world wide have invested copious amounts of money in fighting drug production and consumption, even though, the war on drugs has increased cannabis seizures, we see in countries like Canada, that regulated distribution of marijuana, has made it more readily available for both recreational and medicinal users (Ducatti Flister, 2012). Although, police within the Canadian jurisdiction are capable of pursuing criminal charges for cannabis possession for those who are distributing and consuming illegally, there is still a lack of consensus on the legal status of cannabis in Canada. Though the drug is illegal in Canada, with......

...consumers, which is why Amendment 64 states that marijuana should be taxed in a manner similar to alcohol. However, in actuality, Colorado’s taxation is much denser; with last fiscal year’s marijuana ($65 million) specific tax revenue exceeding that of alcohol ($42 million).
California has always been a leader in the innovation of marijuana legalization, beginning in 1996 when golden state voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA) the first effective medical marijuana law in the U.S. This act removed legal consequences for possession and cultivation by anyone with a medical marijuana recommendation issued by doctor. Since then twenty-two other states have followed in the sandy California footsteps, causing cannabis to become more decriminalized than ever before.
Michelle Patton’s analysis of the CUA found in her Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, showed that passing of the CUA was quick to heighten the popularity of marijuana use. The California Supreme Court announced that the CUA did not admit for immunity upon arrest or prosecution, it simply allowed for a defense in trial. This began to cause discrepancy in court. Due to the vagueness of the act, California legislature passed Senate Bill 420, the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP). The MMP created an anonymous identification card and registration database for patients seen fit. The MMP is managed by the California Department of Health Services and local counties, with the overall goal of......

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DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
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English 112
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April 18, 2012
Presently, Marijuana is illegal in the United States due to the racially motivated Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law was proposed by Harry J. Anslinger the acting commissioner of Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In his testimony to Congress he stated, "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others" (ukcia.org, (n.d), para. 1). Since this time, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 has spawned more strict laws that have many unintended side effects. After many decades, effective federal propaganda has won public support for these laws. Only recently, U.S. citizens have started to question why marijuana is illegal. I feel that it would be beneficial to discard these laws and beliefs of the past. We need to analyze how the legalization of marijuana would positively affect the United States and its citizens in the following fields: medical, criminology, and financial.
I support the legalization of marijuana not because I use this herb, because I do not and would not even if it was legal much like a majority of our populous. I have taken this stance because of the benefits that would arise from legalization. Marijuana has been criminalized for private citizens since 1930’s......